t IJ Columbus

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Thick molasses-like malt aroma with mild, spicy, flowery hops. Copper coloured with tall white head that recedes slowly to a dense cover. Spicy, herbal hop flavour beneath chewey maltiness. Notes of tropical fruit. Bitterness comes to the fore in the long, dry finish. Smooth and thick in the mouth. Gentle alcohol warming. Low carbonation suits this perfectly. Luxury on the tongue. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT and Rastacouere at Spuyten Duyvil (Brooklyn, New York).

Bottle at Spuyten Duyvil. My favorite of the 3 t IJ I’ve had so far. Very clear sunny golden hue. huge frothy, rocky white head. Spicy hops aroma, not unlike urthel hibernus quentum tripel, but with better alcohol dissimulation. Notes of rosewater, mint, flowers. Crisp pils malt + haystack flavors work good with me. Surprisingly fruity on the tongue with a musty basement reminiscent yeast character. Very sweet although it dries out well toward the end where the grassy, floral and extremely spicy hops (basil, parsley) take a revenge. Low carbonation after a few minutes, medium body. The body is not the strong point (feels a bit stale a bit too early) and may actually keep it from being top notch. Good job at hiding 9%.

Bottle. Didn’t minde it, quite salty, with some slightly earthy smells (slightly farmyardy). Quite yeasty, with a dry finish. Quite liked it, a bit too much alcohol at the end.

It was skunked. I received it in July and did not consume it until September. But a bottle condition smelling like late day barn? Hold your nose, and everything else is a bit above average. If there are lingonberries there, that sure assisted the smell. Orange color and orange-citrus fruit, foaming and decent yeast, malty and strong carbonation.

Pours a flakey, hazy, copper color with a thick light tan head. Aromas of pear and spices waft from my glass. I pick up odoriferous notes of clove, cinnamon, wet hay, and a really weird funky-musty-earthy aroma. The taste is lightly fruity up front and finishes with an earthy-spicy note. This is an interesting beer, quite malty with notes of caramel, biscuits, toasted malt, and malt extract. A good balance of competing flavors.

33 cl bottle. Bright, luscious hazy peach, with a ridiculous snowdrifty head. Nose very yeasty, slightly citrusy, hint of sweet thyme and rosemary. Pretty uninteresting in the body, unfortunately; sourness dominates the light fruity sweetness at the front and completely overwhelms by the finish, which is unpleasantly sour-milky and peppery. Its not so bad I guess, but it certainly starts much better than it ends.

Hazy amber with small white head. Yeasty, floral aroma. Full bodied, viscous. Sour and alcohol taste. Not particularly pleasing.

heh, not all that bad. I dig the story about how this brewery got started (thanks Drew) and that is about it. The beer just does not do it for me. So, yup, its a belgian. Golden in color with a good amount of carbonation with a medium white head. The nose is yeasty and with just a hint of hops. The taste is yeasty and just not good to me.